Dining review: New chef adds veggie options at Brick & Bottle

Stepping into chef Scott Howard's shoes is no easy feat. Well-known in Marin for his work at San Anselmo's Fork and, more recently at Brick & Bottle, Howard developed a reputation for high-quality American comfort food built on a Californian insistence for farmcentric ingredients. Howard, who recently decamped to Los Angeles, left the keys to the kingdom in the capable hands of Bob Simontacchi, Brick & Bottle's chef de cuisine when it first opened in 2010 and Howard's chef de cuisine at Berkeley's FIVE.

Simontacchi inherited a menu that he helped build and a series of awards from the Michelin guide, including a Recommended distinction in 2012 and Bib Gourmand for 2013 and 2014. Simontacchi has no intention of resting on these laurels.

"I just try to get better every day," he demurs.

As Brick & Bottle's executive chef since Jan. 2, Simontacchi plans to keep many of the restaurant's signature dishes, such as Thursday night's fried chicken dinners ($19, served with potato puree and asparagus) and Monday night's burger bash ($14 for a Kobe beef burger with fries or salad and a glass of wine or beer).

There will be more vegetarian options than before, however. Simontacchi promises at least two entrees every night, a pasta and a gluten-free option. On a recent menu, curried winter vegetables ($18) were a standout. A salmon-colored coconut curry, prickled with the heady warmth of star anise and a top note of lemon, buoyed a color riot of purple potatoes, green broccolini and orange squash. Set amid the greenery, a round of quinoa and black rice pilaf looked ready for anything, its sturdy character a ballast against the curried waves.

There are plenty of vegetarian appetizer options. The signature roasted beet salad ($8) paired earthy lentils with the big hearted taproot; the Pecorino and arugula enhancing rather than contrasting the terrestrial nature of the dish. Seared Yukon potato gnocchi ($12) were softly sweet, with butternut squash and sage sweetened with brown butter and maple syrup. With artichokes ($9) back in season, Simontacchi developed a new dish to feature them. Roasted in the wood-stone oven, the artichokes' natural sweetness was tempered by tarragon aioli, goat cheese and arugula. The bitter and sour notes added interest to the dish, but the components seemed separate from each other and not entirely united in their chorus.

The smoked pork chop ($24) layered sweet on sweet. Brined overnight with juniper, allspice, chili and garlic, then smoked over applewood to rare before being grilled, the chop straddled the line between dry and moist. There was more sweetness from apple butter atop the chop then the squash puree and red cabbage sweetened with raisins that surrounded it. Perhaps it was the late delivery of the dish (our server forgot to put in the order with the rest of the meal), but the dish's honeyed character gave it a dessert-like appeal.

Brick & Bottle's low-slung tables in the bar and jumping bar scene, complete with numerous TVs, give the front of the restaurant a noisy, energetic atmosphere. Move more toward the back room, dressed in caramel-colored booths with dark linens and candlelight flickering from tall glass lanterns, for a calmer and quieter experience. It feels more polished back there, the pace more leisurely, the conversation at a murmur rather than a rumble.

As Brick & Bottle moves into the post-Howard era with a new chef intimately familiar with the restaurant's successes of recent years, it will be interesting to see how the menu shifts and develops. Though there remain plenty of options for meat, fish and fowl, the menu has subtly shifted away from its meat-centric past. Surely we will see more of Simontacchi's personal cooking style on each plate and he will continue to push the boundaries of flavor. But the approachable American flavors, commitment to craftsmanship and comfortable setting that are at the heart of Brick & Bottle show no signs of changing.

Christina Mueller writes about food — restaurants, chefs, products and trends — for local and national publications as well as other industry clients. Send her an email at ij@christinamueller.com.